Of course, by the time Black Francis and Co. open those concerts with the band’s first-ever New Zealand gig in Auckland on March 12, it’ll be time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Bossanovainstead. Nevertheless, the Pixies are committed to celebrating 1989’s classic Doolittle, which Francis recently told Rolling Stone he immediately realized was “something special” after recording the album’s initial demos.

The frontman also defended the Pixies’ decision to do the full-album tour:

“We weren’t even planning on doing it this year. We got a call to open for Neil Young at the Isle of Wight, and as soon as we said yes to that gig, the phone wouldn’t stop ringing. We wanted to do some more shows, and it was a coincidence that it was the 20th anniversary of Doolittle and also that Minotaur was coming out. Someone said, ‘Hey, let’s do a Doolittle show!’ We were kinda hesitant. We’re a little sensitive about milking the reunion thing to death. We don’t want to be seen as taking advantage of all the good will. At the same time, we are in show business and it is our right to go play — at county fairs if we want to.”

In the interview, Francis also notes that the Pixies have been playing most of Doolittle since first reuniting in 2004; the only song from that album the band never has played live is “Silver.” The band also hasn’t performed “There Goes My Gun” in “like 14 years,” he said.

Recreating the album on stage won’t be difficult, Francis said:

“It’s not Sgt. Pepper. Two guitars, bass and drums will suffice. Kim is the quality control. She goes, ‘No, no, no — you don’t strum it like that, you strum it like this.’ She’s very persnickety. Which is a delight. It relieves the rest of us from having to do that.”